Black Plague
by Cristina Sunsetlily
Summary: What if during the S-class trials in Tenrou Island, Zeref had been feeling a little bit under the weather.
1. Feverish dreams

**hello reader, welcome to this new fanfiction, i hope you like it**

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The sound of birds chirping signalled Tenrou Island's fauna waking up to a new day. The birds spreading their wings and the flowers unfurling their luscious petals. But to Zeref, all he saw was a blur of blinding light and a crippling headache pounding in his temples. A groan escaped his parched throat, sending pinpricks of pain shooting into his chest. He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, nearly collapsing when a wave of dizziness hit him like a hammer.

He finally managed to prop himself up to a sitting position, with his back against the cold rock and he was panting slightly. He frowned slightly in displeasure and put his aching head in his hands running them through his dark hair in contemplation. The first thing he noticed was that he was shivering, a frigid chill settling inside his body contrasted by burning heat, his clothes were already soaked with sweat. The second thing that he noticed was that he was thirsty, really thirsty, unfortunately, the nearest spring was slightly far away for this secluded outcrop of rocks that was as far away from any life form as possible should his curse flare whilst he was sleeping.

Resolving to get some water, He managed to stand up, swaying slightly in place as he did so and turned to find the spring of clear water. But as he walked his sight started to blur, he hung his head, his bangs covering his onyx eyes as he struggled to keep the bright light of the morning sun from reaching them.

All of a sudden, his booted foot connected with a tree root and he stumbled, his head spun in a dizzying loop. He staggered to his feet heavily, shivering violently and kept going. He furrowed deeply into his thin robes, trying to gain a sliver of warmth that seemed to be as elusive as the spring that he was searching for.

In all honesty, he wasn't even sure he was going the right way, everything seemed kind of... disconnected, but he kept going, his fevered mind obsessed with finding a spring to cool his aching head.

A particularly loud bird call echoed right above him and he whimpered softly as the noise attacked his aching head, his skin paling in a bout of disorientation, he swayed dangerously, clutching his head in pain for a moment, then he straightened again and slowly continued, grudgingly lifting his feet again and again.

One foot

in front of the other

another step, and another one.

Slowly, he started to hear a sound, a sound that made him raise his head, his eyes shining with hope. Water, rushing water, he had made it to the spring!

He staggered to the shores of the rushing stream, cupping his hands and drinking the cool liquid , it went down his throat, soothing it wonderfully, then , he ripped some of his outer robe, at the lower hem and soaked it with water, holding it up to his flaming forehead.

The coolness of the water soothed his burning head bringing sweet relief to the pulsing headache attacking his fragile leaned backwards, sighing in relief and relishing the feeling of the icy water on his forehead. Except, all of a sudden, his head was spinning, shaking, his body tipped backwards and crashed into the frigid river,his muddled mind was brought into sharp relief as cold water rushed all around him, rushing into his lungs and pushing him down, trapping the feverish teen in its clutches.

He thrashed inside the water, all sense of direction blurring until all that was left was a frantic sense of panic to escape the glacial water he was trapped inside. But slowly, the need to get out didn't seem so pressing, the burning in his lungs was getting too much for him to handle and his vision was blackening, the lull of the darkness was so enticing,, tempting him with the peace he so desired, the rest he was so denied.

So he gave in blackness overtaking his senses as he drifted off into peaceful slumber, his thin body stopped struggling, stilling and sinking to the bottom of the riverbed, where he lay unmoving, unnaturally so. His dark bangs floated up, shining dully from the murky sunlight drifting to the bottom of the river and obscuring his milky face as well as a pair of ebony eyes that slowly closed.

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 **OK! So that's it, i hope you liked it, please review regardless of whether you liked it or not, I would love your constructive advice.**

 **Now, i have a few ideas as to how to continue this story that i don't know which one to pick, so if you can, can you please go to the poll on my profile and vote which option you would like (they are listed below), or if you have a new idea, feel free to review that too.**

 **(Possibilities)**

 **1#Wendy and Mest find him passed out in the river and take him back to Fairy Tail.**

 **2# He wakes up on the shores of the river and Elfman and Evergreen find him as he is going back from the river. ( This would lead to the canon showdown except Zeref will probably collapse halfway through the 'fight')**


	2. Murky rivers

**Hello reader, chapter 2 of the story is up and I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Chapter 2**

"Look Doranbolt, a river!" Wendy sped up, her azure locks billowing behind her as she ran towards the crystalline river. Doranbolt shook his head and grinned at her eagerness but nevertheless followed her. They stopped at the shore and crouched, so Doranbolt could teach Wendy the names of some of the plants that grew by the water's edge.

After a while, his gaze started wondering, his sharp eyes raking over the landscape. Suddenly, he spotted a dark form in the river, pausing half-way during his speech, causing Wendy to throw a questioning glance his way. Seeing as Doranbolt wasn't exactly responding, the young dragon slayer followed his gaze into the depths of the river.

Her sharp eyes caught the fuzzy figure submerged inside the river and she nimbly stood from her crouched position, exclaiming, "Doranbolt, I-I think there's a person in there!". He snapped into action, instantly rushing into the river and swimming to where the figure was laying, caring little for getting his clothes wet.

Once he was floating above the figure, he turned back to Wendy and told her "The water is really deep in this part, I'm going to have to go under".

Then, stopping only to take a deep breath, he dived into the water, a trail of bubbles the only thing evident from the surface.

Doranbolt dived underwater, his eyes open a slight fraction only, so he could see where the figure was. And sure enough, there it was, he spotted a flash of pale skin drowning in black fabric. He grabbed the folds of the cloth and kicked upwards. But he was slowing down, the burning in his lungs was becoming very noticeable.

How deep was he. The river, hadn't seemed so bottomless before. Just as he started panicking, he breached the surface, droplets splashing everywhere, drawing rainbows across the water.

Acting quickly, he lifted the figure out to the surface and saw the distinct build of a young teenage boy, he grasped the teens thin shoulders and started swimming towards the shallows. Once he was near enough, Wendy reached out to help him and together they laid the unconscious teen across the river shore.

He quickly pressed on his chest to get all the water out while Wendy used her sky dragon slayer magic to force air into his lungs and expel the rest of the water. When they finished, they waited expectantly for any reaction from the seemingly lifeless boy.

COUGH, COUGH COUGH

The boy started hacking up water, doubling over in a coughing fit and curling onto his side. Once it subsided, they boy relaxed from his clenched position although he remained on his side. Now that the danger was over and they could see the reassuring rise and fall of his chest, the mages observed the unconscious teen.

He was wearing a dark robe, soaked through with the frigid water of the river which was dripping water all over the river pebbles. His face was framed by ebony locks which reached down to his shoulders and drenched bangs which framed his pale face and dripped water over his closed lids.

Wendy wondered who he was, after all, Tenrou Island was Fairy Tail's island so not many people set foot on its shores, not to mention how hard it was to actually find the reclusive isle. She was snapped out of her musings as her partner picked up the unresponsive teen and hoisted him over his shoulder. She gave Doranbolt a questioning glance

"We need to get him to main camp, he's freezing from being in the water for so long", he explained, "besides, **I want to know why he's here"** Doranbolt finished darkly.

Wendy nodded in understanding and started walking back to camp, she didn't wish for the teen to be treated with suspicion, but she understood the reasoning behind it. Though that didn't mean she had to be happy about it

 **OK guys, another chapter is done, a bit of a filler but I hope it wasn't too boring. Next chapter though will be significantly more interesting, Zeref will be brought to the main camp and** **(SPOILER ALERT):**

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 _Mavis might even show up in the next chapter (depends on how I'm feeling)_

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 **Spoiler is over**

 **Until next time, don't forget to review, even if it is just advice**


	3. Making camp

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fairy Tail series or Zeref**

 **Thank you to all those who reviewed**

Doranbolt was concerned. This was no easy feat as the memory mage normally had quite a tight leash on his emotions, his job demanded control. As a member of the Rune Knights, he had certainly been pushed into many a startling situation, though most were purely combat based.

So the fact that he ended up holding an unconscious teen who he and Wendy had just rescued unconscious from a nearby river which resided in an island that belonged to the guild which he was currently infiltrating, should not have come as such a surprise.

No, what he was worried about was the amount of time that the teen had spent inside the freezing river. Granted, it wasn't winter but the water wasn't exactly swimming temperature, although the atmosphere was certainly very humid. Add this to the fact that the ten was still wearing the soaked robes that they had found him in was probably not helping matters.

The boy's skin was as pale as chalk, with a bluish tinge to it, as if the chill of the water had grabbed hold of his very soul. He had also been shivering for the past hour, very slightly at first but now his whole frame was trembling and didn't seem to be likely to stop. And as if this wasn't troubling enough, he could feel the teen wheezing as he struggled to breathe. His breaths were gasped out, fluttering inside his lungs like a trapped butterfly.

All in all, the teen was clearly sick, most likely with a chest infection from what he could tell. And he wasnt the only one who was seeing the signs, Wendy had been shooting the unconscious teen glances for the last 45 minutes. Doranbolt know she was aching to try and help but as much as it hurt for him to say, he did not want Wendy to waste her magic on a pottential enemy.

And so they trudged on, they needed to reach the fairy tail camp. Then, well they would just wait until their mysterious intruder woke up.

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Wendy was not happy, she wasn't a fool, she could see the bluish glow that adorned his pallid cheeks and the way his whole body trembled in cold, it was quite obvious that the teen was sick. He needed help but Doranbolt considered him an enemy, and as the one who was carrying the unconscious youth, he called the shots. So she would wait, at least until they arrived.

After all, air could be patient, air could wait.

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 **A while later...**

Finally, they made it,they had strayed far away from the camp and so the team had to rely on Wendy's sharp senses to get them back to camp. But, her senses were infallible, despite the distance, she had manged to lead them flawlessly to the camp. Which was good since the teens condition didn't seem to be getting better. The two mages were distracted by the sound of chatter coming form the examinators camp. The vegetation fell away as they entered the clearing.

Mira was the first to sot them, and waved them over enthusiastically, "Wendy, Doranbolt, your finally here, I was wondering where you guys were". The rest of the group turned around to look at the newcomers. The party came to meet them but where shocked when what they previously thought was a bundle of clothes shifted and drew a staggering breath.

Erza, with her impeccable reflexes, was quick to rush to Doranbolt's side while Mira prepared a makeshift cot for the unconscious teen. When they had layed him on the bed, they all stood a ways away, and looked at Doranbolt expectantly.

"We found him in the river"Doranbolt explained,"he must have fallen in somehow. He hasn't woken up yet so we don't know what he is doing in Tenrou Island." Doranbolt finished his tale causing Wendy to frown, he hadn't even mentioned that the youth was sick. Doranbolt had just dismissed him as a potential enemy and introduced him in the worst way possible to a few of the most powerful members of Fairy Tail

But before anyone could do anything, a sweet musical voice drew their attention "He's not an enemy you know, not to Fairy Tail",they all turned to find the source of the voice and found a young girl standing in front the senseless teen.

Everyone readied themselves to attack. Everyone that is except Mira and Erza whose smiles lit up the tension-filled campsite.

"First Master!" They exclaimed happily, she smiled softly at the members of her beloved guild, her gaze settling on each of them in turn."Yes, although this is not really my body, merely a magical projection. I normally only appear to the S-class members of the guild" she informed the group.

Doranbolt felt her gaze alight on him, emerald eyes seemingly piercing into his tensed, preparing for a confrontation but to his surprise, her eyes left his face, a knowing but steely glint in her eyes. Doranbolt recognised it as a warning not to hurt anyone in her guild.

When her eyes had taken in everyone in the group, she looked back to the unconscious teen behind her and her features softened a warm smile forming on her lips as she caressed his ebony tresses.

"He is here under my protection"

 **yay! i'm done with another chapter, hope you liked it. I am pretty satisfied as to how it came out, I wasnt sure if i should include Mavis but a nice reviewer made me change my ming. Now, I know there wasn't a lot of Zervis but there a few hints.**

 **Also this was my longest chapter yet in the story so hurray.**

 **Please review on what you would like to happen next.**

 **Would you like him to face Grimroire heart? be held 'captive' by Fairy Tail? Something else altogether?**

 **REVIEW,please? :)**


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